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The championship
Sport contributes not only to physical development, but also to discipline, resilience, confidence, and community participation in those who play.
Wrestling was close to the late Shri M. Mukesh Goud, father of Sreshth Foundation’s founder,
Mulla Vikram Goud. Malla Yuddha was conceived both as a tribute to him and as a way to support the wider effort to strengthen the visibility and practice of traditional sport at the grassroots level.
Through Sreshth Foundation, the championship was organised as a large-scale grassroots championship, with more than 650 wrestlers from across Telangana taking part, including
growing participation from young women and girls, with the foundation continuing to encourage
wider participation in the years ahead.
Sreshth Foundation is grateful to everyone who supported Malla Yuddha, and plans to
continue expanding its support for grassroots traditional sport in the years to come.
Sport plays an important role in physical wellbeing while also encouraging leadership, discipline, resilience, and teamwork. Malla Yuddha is one of India’s traditional wrestling forms, with deep historical and cultural roots. It is closely related to Southeast Asian wrestling styles such as Naban, and is one of the two ancestors of Kushti. Indian wrestling is described in the 13th-century Malla Purana.
With this vision, Sreshth Foundation organised the four-day Shri Mukesh Goud Memorial Sports Championship to support the revival and wider recognition of Malla Yuddha. The championship was organised at a large public scale in Hyderabad, Telangana, in memory of the late Shri Mukesh Goud, a former minister in the Government of Andhra Pradesh who strongly supported the sport throughout his
life, who was a strong supporter of the sport. Shri Vikram Goud, Founder of Sreshth Foundation and BJP Youth leader from Hyderabad, initiated the championship to revive this ancient sport in the city.
Today, the sport continues to have limited organised visibility and participation. The championship was organised in the hope that it would encourage younger generations to engage with the sport for physical and personal development , and that the effort can be repeated in other Indian states within the framework of the Central Government’s Khelo India programme, which works to strengthen grassroots sporting culture across India.
The championship was held from 9–12 February 2023 at the Lal Bahadur Stadium in Hyderabad. The championship saw strong participation from young wrestlers across Telangana. Of 658 total participants, 86 came from outside Hyderabad, mainly from Mahbubnagar, Warangal, Adilabad, Medak, Nizamabad, and Karimnagar. The rest came from across Hyderabad. Close to 100 girls took part in the event
Smt. D. K. Aruna – BJP National Vice President and Former Minister
● Dr. K. Laxman – MP, BJP Parliamentary Board Member, BJP OBC Morcha National President
● Shri Etela Rajender – BJP NEC Member, MLA, Former Minister
● Shri Racha Srinivas – Organising Secretary, Swadeshi Jagran Manch
● Smt. Sunita Kumar – Founder, MAA ENT Group
Prizes were awarded to 63 participants across 20 categories, including men’s senior, women’s senior, under-17, and under-15, with senior weight categories from 82–120 kg and the women’s title contested in the 60–70 kg category with total prize support exceeding ₹35 lakh was awarded to podium finishers across the men’s and women’s categories.
